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View Full Version : Flobots - Handlebars, Ok song, anti-capitalist video?



IcarusAngel
19th August 2008, 13:30
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuK2A1ZqoWs&feature=related[/URL]


"It starts out lighthearted, showing two young friends riding their bikes without their hands on the handlebars. They arrive at a sign that points in two directions, one labeled with a corporate-like symbol that is reminiscent of the the fictional [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omni_Consumer_Products"]Omni Consumer Products (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afX6VYn48KE) multinational corporation in the RoboCop (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RoboCop) series, and the other labeled by a dove.

...
The person who took the direction labeled with a dove arrives in a peaceful, serene neighborhood, while the other person arrives in a commercial district. The business person goes on to become the head of a successful company and a powerful politician, disenfranchising the poor inhabitants of the peaceful neighborhood. The citizens of the city then form a rebellion against the tyrannical political system headed by the businessman, led by the person who chose the more peaceful neighborhood. As the riot is raging against their new leader, troops in riot gear are sent out to very brutally silence them. When the riot comes against a wall of troops, throwing molotov cocktails, the troops open fire and kill many of the citizens. The leader sees his former friend just before his friend is killed, and realizes what he has done was wrong, and the video ends as it shows a flashback sequence of the friends riding their bikes.
"

From some comments:

"At the beginning of the song the two boys on bikes go 2 seperate paths. One travels with the C,the path of greed and Capitalism. One travels the Dove, or the path of peace. Throughout the video there are insinuations of the US govt being the Eagle we use as our national symbol. This eagle is shown behind the man that chooses capitalism. The eagle is also shown in another clip snatching a dove out of mid air, then a F-22 USAF Jet silouette passes overhead. This song is a wakeup call for anyone who will listen."

"rediculously good song. so well written describing the dangers of capitalism becoming dictatorships. amazing album. possibly the most dangerous ba "

Originally I thought the song was pro-capitalist but these seem accurate. Kind of intereseting.

rocker935
19th August 2008, 16:07
I posted this somewhere on the forum already, but i didn't get many replies back. Anyways, Flobots rock, you should listen to some of there other songs. They even have a song called "Mayday".

IcarusAngel
19th August 2008, 20:26
Yah, I linked to avril lavigne by accident (as it's the number 1 video on youtube). I fixed the link though lol.

But yah, link fixed, and they seem pretty cool. Are they leftist, who did the video?

JimmyJazz
20th August 2008, 01:18
Interesting. I didn't see anything there that was enough to make me think the singer is rapping in anything but his own voice, though. I still think the song is probably pro-capitalist/libertarian. In fact, at the end there is a clash between street protesters and security forces, and the security forces have a Marxist-looking red fist on their shields. Could be the protesters are supposed to be romantic revolutionaries fighting the socialistic welfare state (or some such b.s.).

Red_Dialectics
20th August 2008, 03:16
I noticed the fist too, but I think that is a coincidence. I quite like the song and the video, and saw the Flobots in concert last week. They talked alot about american imperialism and how this generation must fight for the interests of the masses to make this country a place worth living in. Something like that anyway. They are very pro-left in their other songs and even talk about CIA-sponsored coups in Latin America. Check out some of their other stuff before you say they are "pro-capitalist/libertarian".

rocker935
20th August 2008, 03:49
Yeh, I'm seeing them 2morrow in concert. They definitely are not on the right. The song Handlebars is a little more abstract and harder to determine what they are, but if you listen to other songs, they talk about revolution and shit. They also make reference to Chavez and Huey P. in a few songs.

Here are the links to listen/download the song "Same Thing"

Listen:
http://www.verned.com/info.php?name=Flobots_-_Same_Thing.mp3&url=http://www.verned.com/get.php?id=687474703a2f2f7777772e77727a7574612e706 c2f6175642f66696c652f684557584535756c7a332f666c6f6 26f74735f2d5f416e6e655f42726164656e2e6d70332e6d703 3

Download:
http://www.verned.com/download.php?name=Flobots_-_Same_Thing.mp3&url=http://www.verned.com/get.php?id=687474703a2f2f7777772e77727a7574612e706 c2f6175642f66696c652f684557584535756c7a332f666c6f6 26f74735f2d5f416e6e655f42726164656e2e6d70332e6d703 3

JimmyJazz
20th August 2008, 05:24
I noticed the fist too, but I think that is a coincidence. I quite like the song and the video, and saw the Flobots in concert last week. They talked alot about american imperialism and how this generation must fight for the interests of the masses to make this country a place worth living in. Something like that anyway. They are very pro-left in their other songs and even talk about CIA-sponsored coups in Latin America. Check out some of their other stuff before you say they are "pro-capitalist/libertarian".

Well, first of all, I didn't say what they are because I have no idea. The song in question is does have pro-capitalist lyrics if they're taken literally; whether they should be taken as ironic or literal I don't know. And secondly, libertarians are very anti-imperialist, especially the young ones.

If they are leftist, writing those lyrics to "Handlebars" was a pretty stupid move, because to anyone who doesn't know the band's real opinion they just sound like a dose of the typical naive pro-capitalist/individualist message that is in a lot of today's rap.

mykittyhasaboner
20th August 2008, 13:36
Flobots!!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

SpaceLord
10th November 2008, 17:17
I was less impressed with "Handlebars" (though it's a lyrically-sound track) than I was with "Rise" which, while its lyrics are simpler, has the same message in a more accessible forum. It's one of those great fist-pumping anthems, and I think a lot of people are attracted to that vibe in their political music.

What impressed me most about the Flobots was their support of non-partisan campaigns like Rock the Vote over the course of this years' election. Despite being fundamentally in the Democrat camp, they still went out and basically said "we don't care who you vote for, long as you do". For example, go to YouTube and check out "Flobots Rock the Vote" (I'd put the link down but I haven't been here long enough). It's worth checking out, even though the election is over.